Message from the Mount (week 13)

Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 5:14–16 NKJV

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Now what is the difference between salt and light? Salt relates to our character; light relates to our conduct. Salt deals with what we are; light deals with what we do.

We know what light does-it dispels darkness, and it attracts. If you're in a dark place with just one light, all eyes will focus on that light. Light is what gives sailors a course to follow across the seas. They determine a direction oftentimes by the stars that are light-years away. The gleam of a lighthouse on the horizon gives direction and attracts attention.

Now it ought to be obvious, but the reason why Jesus commands that we shine as light is because this world is in total darkness. Several times in the Bible we are commanded to shine as light in a dark world. 2 Cor. 4:6 says, "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Phil. 2:15 says, "*that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." Eph. 5:8 says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." Now some of you may be thinking: "Wait a minute. Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world.' How are we to be lights?" Well, it is very simple. You see, Jesus is the sun; we are the moon. He is the light that reveals God; we are to be the light that reflects God.

I heard about a little boy that was taken by his mother to see a famous cathedral. On the windows were the pictures of various Christians. As he was watching the sunbeams shining through the stained-glass windows, he asked his mother, "Who are those people on the windows?" She said, "They're saints." The little boy looked at the windows and said, "Well, now I know what saints are. They are people who let the light shine through." That little boy got it right. That's what a saint is- someone who lets the light of Jesus shine through his life. Jesus goes on to say, "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." (v.14b)

If you ever get a chance to go to Israel you'll understand what Jesus meant. Back in Bible days they didn't have bulldozers like we have, so cities were built one layer over another. When a city was invaded and burned down and destroyed, they would take all the rubble, knock it down, use that as a foundation and build the city all over again, layer by layer.

When you go to Israel you can see, for example, the ancient city of Jericho. These hills are called tells, and a city built on a tell or a hill cannot be hidden. Neither should your light. Jesus goes on to say in v.15, "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." You see, as the song goes, "we are to let our little light shine."

Too many Christians, I think, believe they are in the CIA, and they are in a way, but CIA does not stand for Central Intelligence Agency, it stands for Christians in Action.

Too many Christians are like a little boy I heard about one time who was out playing with a mongrel dog in his front yard. It was a half breed. A man came walking by one day and saw this little boy playing with this dog, and he said, "Hey son, what kind of a mutt is that?" The little boy indignantly said, "Why, he's a police dog." The man said, "He doesn't look like a police dog." The boy said, "Well, you see, he's in the secret service." We don't need any secret service Christians.

You need to be light in a dark world. Notice Jesus did not say "you can be salt, or you should be light." He said, "You are." You know what that means? Shake the salt on a decaying world, shine the light to a darkened world.

III. SHARE THE TRUTH TO A DYING WORLD

Jesus concludes by saying this: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (v.16)

Now that raises a question. How do you know if you're being salt and light? How do you know if you're shaking the salt, and how do you know if you're shining the light? Well, here is the test; if "men see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." I am convinced that the two greatest days in the life of an individual who is a Christian is, first of all, the day when he is born again, and second, the day when he comes to understand why he is born again. When you begin to live your life in such a way that people are attracted to Jesus Christ, and want to glorify your Father in heaven, you will know that your salt is tasty and your light is bright. Someone has said, "The real mark of a saint is that he makes it easier for others to believe in God."

A Sunday School teacher was talking to his class one time, and he said, "Boys, here's a watch. What is it for?" They said, "To tell the time." He said, "Well, suppose the watch doesn't keep time. What is it good for?" They said," Good for nothing."

He then took out a pencil and said, "What is this pencil for?" They said, "It's to write with." He said, "Suppose the pencil won't make a mark. What is it good for?" They said, "Good for nothing."

Then he took out a knife, and he said, "Boys, what is this for?" They said, "To cut things with." He said, "But suppose it won't cut anything. What is it good for?" They said, "Good for nothing."

The teacher then looked at the class and said, "Boys, whatever else you do, if you do not glorify God by the way you live, and bring others to glorify God, then what are you good for?" They all said, "Good for nothing." I want to close with this last thought.

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth*. You are the light of world." Not just salt for your neighborhood or for the city where you live, but there's enough salt and enough light for all of the earth and the entire world.

Conclusion

I heard a story one time about a duck who broke his wing during the flight home for the winter. A sympathetic farmer retrieved the fallen duck and took him home. The farmer's children adopted the duck as their pet and began to feed him from the table and take him along as they performed their daily chores. By next fall the children were heartbroken as they watched the duck look at the other ducks who were flying south for the winter, but his wing still wasn't strong enough for the flight. Every time a flock flew south, the duck would look longingly into the sky and then return to play with the children. Well, the second year the duck's wing had grown much stronger, but the children had fed the duck so well that when he attempted to take off he was too fat to get off the ground. After one or two attempts he gave up and returned to play with the children. The third year the duck was completely healed. But as the other ducks quacked their call to go south, the duck never even looked up as they flew over. He had become so accustomed to the comfort of his new existence he had lost his focus on the true calling and meaning of his life.

God has not called us to be fat ducks, satisfied with a world that is going to go up in smoke. God has called us to be eagles soaring through the clouds of holiness; shaking out the salt of a godly life; shining out the light of the truth of Jesus Christ, and bringing as many men as we can to glorify our Father in heaven.